to smile is already one of the biggest horror hits of the year thanks to its surprise box office success – which is one reason it’s not streaming yet (unlike Halloween ends‘ Day-and-Date release on Peacock). But because to smile released by Paramount, there’s a good chance it could be on its way to Paramount Plus soon. (Sorry Netflix and HBO users.) As with most new releases, there will likely be VOD services to rent or buy first, but then it should come down to Paramount Plus, where subscribers can stream the film.
While Paramount has not announced the official date of the to smile‘s streaming release yet, we have more than a few clues based on the company’s current theatrical deal. During the pandemic, Paramount announced that its future films would have a 45-day exclusivity window. A number of major publications such as Scream Earlier this year we followed this pattern up to a T. This would set to smile‘s streaming release around November 14th. But as last year has also shown, there is no guarantee that it will reach that date.
In fact, Paramount tends to keep films in theaters well past 45 days and not stream them if it feels the films can still make money at the box office. The most prominent example of this to date is Top Gun: Maverick
Given all of this information, it seems likely that Paramount could wait a few weeks or even months past the initial 45-day window to bring it to smile to stream. The horror film is still going strong at the box office, even with competition from blockbuster horror films like Halloween ends. And based on its current trend, the film, which was reportedly shot for $17 million, will likely surpass the $100 million mark domestically before completing its theatrical run. In other words, it’s probably in Paramount’s best interest to keep it in theaters while it’s still performing, but there’s plenty to think about to smile will access streaming in time to make Thanksgiving overly spooky.